Big city health leaders urge vaccination amid another measles outbreak

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The following is a statement from the board of directors of the Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC), leaders of America’s largest metropolitan health departments who serve a combined 61 million people. 

“As public health officials who care deeply about the health and wellbeing not just of our residents, but people across the country, we are profoundly alarmed by the nation’s latest preventable measles outbreak and the response from the Surgeon General of Florida. As our nation has seen over the past few years, viruses thrive on disinformation — and the ramifications of unchecked spread can quickly become catastrophic.

Most members of the Big Cities Health Coalition have had firsthand experience with measles outbreaks, several in recent years. While we represent a diverse range of communities, our responses have all been built on years of accumulated evidence and a strong public health foundation. We have universally urged families with unvaccinated children to get an immediate dose of the MMR vaccine, which offers upwards of 97% protection against an incredibly contagious and potentially lethal virus. We also worked closely with schools and families to ensure that people who are exposed or sick stay home — and, when necessary, established quarantine procedures for unvaccinated children who have been potentially exposed. These efforts have successfully stopped measles outbreaks in their tracks — preventing not only illness, but potential hospitalization and even death.

We understand that some of these steps — in particular, a 21-day quarantine for school-age children — can be difficult on families. But we have been guided by well-established science showing that up to 90% of unvaccinated individuals will contract measles if exposed to it, and that a 21-day quarantine period for those individuals is necessary to help prevent further spread. We also ensured families knew that the quarantine period could be shortened dramatically if children received vaccination following exposure. 

For these reasons, we are dismayed that the Surgeon General of Florida has not taken even the most basic step of encouraging families of unvaccinated children to get the MMR vaccine — which is compounded by his decision to let families choose when to send unvaccinated children back to school. Together, these decisions risk turning an outbreak into an epidemic and needlessly putting the health of many more children at greater risk. 

Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of the people we serve, and all of us in public health have a responsibility to be guided by the best available evidence. In this case, the science could not be clearer: measles can be lethal, the MMR vaccine is highly effective, and people who are unvaccinated should stay home following exposure. Any response that ignores or deviates from these standards on the part of public health officials is a dereliction of duty.”    

Phil Huang, MD, MPH: BCHC Board Chair; Director and Health Authority, Dallas County Health and Human Services

Raynard Washington, MD, MPH: BCHC Chair-elect; Director, Mecklenburg County Public Health

Faisal Khan, MD: BCHC Vice Chair; Director, Public Health–Seattle & King County

Mysheika Roberts, MD, MPH: Immediate Past BCHC Board Chair; Commissioner, Columbus Public Health

Gretchen Musicant, MPH, BSN: BCHC Board Treasurer; former Commissioner, Minneapolis Health Department

Sara Cody, MD: BCHC Board member; Director, Santa Clara County Public Health Department

Michelle Taylor, MD, DrPH, MPA: BCHC Board member; Director, Shelby County Health Department

Chrissie Juliano, MPP: ex officio BCHC Board member; Executive Director, Big Cities Health Coalition

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